Newell Rubbermaid ( NWL) pushed the Consumer Durables industry lower today making it today's featured Consumer Durables laggard. The industry as a whole closed the day down 0.4%. By the end of trading, Newell Rubbermaid fell $0.33 (-1.2%) to $26.12 on light volume. Throughout the day, 1,502,388 shares of Newell Rubbermaid exchanged hands as compared to its average daily volume of 2,542,600 shares. The stock ranged in price between $26.06-$26.42 after having opened the day at $26.12 as compared to the previous trading day's close of $26.45. Other companies within the Consumer Durables industry that declined today were: Virco Manufacturing Corporation ( VIRC), down 6.0%, Pitney Bowes ( PBI), down 5.9%, Appliance Recycling Centers Of America ( ARCI), down 4.6% and Harbinger Group ( HRG), down 3.7%.

Newell Rubbermaid Inc. designs, manufactures, and markets consumer and commercial products worldwide. It operates in six segments: Home Solutions, Writing, Tools, Commercial Products, Baby & Parenting, and Specialty. Newell Rubbermaid has a market cap of $7.6 billion and is part of the consumer goods sector. The company has a P/E ratio of 20.0, above the S&P 500 P/E ratio of 17.7. Shares are up 18.8% year to date as of the close of trading on Monday. Currently there are 8 analysts that rate Newell Rubbermaid a buy, no analysts rate it a sell, and 2 rate it a hold.

TheStreet Ratings rates Newell Rubbermaid as a buy. The company's strengths can be seen in multiple areas, such as its solid stock price performance, notable return on equity, expanding profit margins and largely solid financial position with reasonable debt levels by most measures. We feel these strengths outweigh the fact that the company has had sub par growth in net income.

The activist investor is urging the maker of Rubbermaid containers, Mr. Coffee machines and Elmer's glue to table divestiture plans announced last month until shareholders get to vote on the insurgent's ten director candidates.